Chinese envoy vows balanced trade with PH

Chinese Ambassador to the Philippines Zhao Jianhua has vowed to balance trade and investments with the Philippines.

During the Philippine-China Investment Forum in Makati City on Friday, Zhao said despite the long diplomatic relations of the two countries, bilateral trade and investments remained moderate.

The balance of trade favors China since the Philippines import more products from China as well as invests more in China.

The Chinese envoy reiterated that President Rodrigo Duterte’s state visit last year has opened great opportunities for Manila and Beijing.

“We enter into new era of comprehensive development of our bilateral relations,” Zhao said.

“The essence of our bilateral relationship must lie into serving the mutual interest of our people,” he added.

In a span of seven months, China’s import of tropical fruits from the Philippines increased by $100 million, according to Zhao. The two-way trade between China and the Philippines reached $47.2 billion last year, increasing by 3.3 percent from the figure in 2015. PNA

Zhao said that China’s trade with other members of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations last year registered decrements, except for the Philippines.

“We are very confident about the relations of our two countries. Our bilateral and economic relations remained vigilant, resilient. China, despite those difficult years, China remains second trading partner of the Philippines,” the envoy said.

He added that China was also eyeing to establish its first industrial park in the country.